Arts

The Assassin isn't just a change of form for its director, Hou Hsiao-Hsien; it also puts a twist on the classic story of the roaming swordsman — or swordswoman — in medieval China.

Renowned Director Breaks The Mold, With An 'Assassin' No One Saw Coming

1:22pm October 18, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

Hou Hsiao-Hsien has built worldwide fame, but he's done so with realistic films about normal people. In The Assassin, he upends expectations (and genre conventions) with a medieval action tale.

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Brie Larson as Ma and Jacob Tremblay as Jack in the new movie adaptation of Room.

Books
Arts

A Mother Balances Truth And Survival In 'Room'

10:38am October 18, 2015

by NPR Staff

Actress Brie Larson speaks to NPR's Rachel Martin about the new film Room. She plays a woman held captive for seven years, who finally escapes with her son — who's never seen the outside world

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Arts

'The Brain Electric' Proves Mind Control Is Not So Far Off

10:38am October 18, 2015

There is a race to create brain-robot interfaces that will make humans stronger. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks to Malcolm Gay, the author of the new book "The Brain Electric."

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Books
Arts

Beyond 'Aunt Jemima': A Taste Of African-American Culinary Heritage

5:06pm October 17, 2015

by NPR Staff

History has largely forgotten the lives and thoughts of the black chefs who helped define American cooking. But there's a tantalizing glimpse in food writer Toni Tipton-Martin's cookbook collection.

Arts

In Bringing 'Goosebumps' To The Big Screen, Jack Black Gets His Creepy On

5:06pm October 17, 2015

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Black about playing R.L. Stine, the beloved children's horror author, in the new Goosebumps movie.

Alfred Newman stands between actor Eddie Cantor (left) and director Norman Taurog, listening to a playback on the set of Strike Me Pink, circa 1935.

When John Williams Can't Go, Whom Does Spielberg Call? Thomas Newman

2:28pm October 17, 2015

by Tim Greiving

It's been decades since Steven Spielberg directed a film without Williams' help. With the composer unable to do his latest, Bridge of Spies, Spielberg kept it in the "extended family," tapping Newman.

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Books
Arts

The Real Magic Of This Big 'City' — And The New Voice Behind It

11:16am October 17, 2015

by NPR Staff

Before City on Fire's release, Garth Risk Hallberg's debut novel was best known for the big advance it earned. But that paycheck is dwarfed by the book itself: a vast love letter to mid-'70s New York.

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The Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Allen Elizabethan Theatre, featuring a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Arts

O Romeo, Romeo, What The Heck Are You Saying?

11:14am October 17, 2015

by Aaron Scott

Wherefore art "thou"? Why not "you" instead? The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is making an ambitious — and controversial — attempt to rewrite the Bard's plays into modern-day English.

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Arts

After Decades On Stage, Arthur Miller's Works Defy The Final Curtain

10:48am October 17, 2015

by Tom Vitale

The great American playwright was born a century ago Saturday. An activist as much as he was a writer, Miller challenged social ills in playscripts — and set a new standard for the citizen-artist.

Frederick Forsyth's new memoir chronicles his real-life adventures as a fighter pilot, foreign correspondent and author.

Books
Arts

Frederick Forsyth, Thrilling In Real Life

8:12am October 17, 2015

by NPR Staff

The author of classic thrillers like The Day of the Jackal has just written a memoir, The Outsider, that proves his life as a foreign correspondent-turned-writer is almost as exciting as his fiction.